When the time comes for a small business to begin employing people for the first time, the list of legal rights and responsibilities can seem extremely daunting. After all, getting it wrong could cost you time, money and profitability. It may even expose you to legal liability.
Fortunately, however, complying with employment law doesn’t have to be difficult. When approached carefully, with the appropriate attention to detail, you should be able to hire, manage and retain effective staff who will help you continue to grow your business.
So what do you need to consider before you take on staff for the first time? Howells Solicitors offers a brief guide to help you take the next step with your business. More...
On 1st April, six million workers across the UK will benefit from an increase in the National Living Wage. Employers will have to pay employees a minimum hourly rate of £7.20 which equates to a 50p increase on the current minimum level of pay for employees over 25 years old. An employee who is over 25 and currently working a 35 hour week on the minimum wage will see an increase of £910 in their annual pay packet. More...
When a person or company buys a business, it’s important to remember that they’re taking over responsibility for, and obligations to, the people that make up that business, as well as the brand and bricks and mortar.
The law surrounding the transfer of businesses (or ‘undertakings’) in relation to human resources is geared toward strengthening the rights of these employees. These regulations, which came into effect in their original form in 1981, are known as TUPE, and today Howells Solicitors examines them from the perspective of the buying company. More...
David Cameron has announced this week that there will be a nationwide focus on mental health after a review by NHS England found that the current level of care is inadequate, the department is underfunded and that 3 in 4 people with mental health problems receive no help at all, something that leads to “thousands of tragic and unnecessary deaths”.
Improving Treatment and Helping Thousands Back to Work
The PM spoke of the stigma attached to mental health that still exists within the UK and how this, alongside poor care, can mean employees are unable to work. He has already spoken to the CEOs of some of the country’s biggest companies, including Royal Mail, Barclays and BT, implementing plans to make changes over the coming months and years. More...
A ruling from the European Court of Justice last week will have a big impact for businesses, particularly those that have workers with no fixed place of work.
The case of Federacion de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones Obreras v Tyco Integrated Security SL decided that time spent travelling to your first client or customer and from your last should be classed as "working time".
Although our Government in non-statutory guidance has long been of the opinion that time spent travelling during the course of a working day should be considered as "working time", it also states that commuting to and from work outside of an employee's normal working hours is not.
Implications for the workplace
Here we explain the possible implications of this ruling for employers and employees in the UK.
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